Skip to main content
Skip to main navigation
Skip to talk navigation

Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Saved Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Flip

1 2

AIBU?

to think that this old man should not have pushed me onto my arse in the street?

28 replies

InsanityandBeyond · 05/03/2014 11:59

Driving up a long upward incline street this morning. Road clear when I start up it. My side of the road blocked with parked cars so I am over the middle of the road. A car starts coming down at the top of the street. They must have clearly seen that I was coming up and could have waited at the top but they started bearing down on me. The driver could have pulled in slightly ahead which I thought they were going to do as there was a space in the parked cars but they did not . We cannot both get past so the car stops in front of me and beeps! I swear to myself, comment to MYSELF about the driver being a stupid bloody ignorant cow without looking at them and then start reversing down the road. At the bottom there is a space free and I pull into it deciding not to bother driving up there. I will walk up.

Suddenly there is a little old man in front of me screaming at me 'don't you dare talk to my wife life that, how dare you'. He then slapped my face and pushed me over. I was not expecting it so I fell on my arse . Quite a few other people around and they did not say a thing. By the time I had got over the shock and stood up, old man was gone.

I did not even get the reg plate of the car.

I am in shock tbh. Was this reasonable behaviour from a senior citizen?

OP posts:

Report

Seeline · 05/03/2014 12:01

It was assault and should be reported to the police!

WorraLiberty · 05/03/2014 12:01

Oh come on now you know full well that's not reasonable behavior and nor was your swearing at his wife.

What does age have to do with it btw?

angelos02 · 05/03/2014 12:02

Ring the police.

Electriclaundryland · 05/03/2014 12:02

Of course it's unreasonable of him. Hope you're ok now.

Crowler · 05/03/2014 12:04

Obviously he has assaulted you. Normal people become insane behind the wheel.

We live in an area where you must take turns passing on say, 90% of the roads. My mother in law has NO IDEA how to negotiate this dance and it's totally cringe-inducing.

RonaldMcDonald · 05/03/2014 12:20

This isn't reasonable behaviour from any citizen. Jesus.

You could report it to the police because he may be well know to the police in the area

Or you could chalk it up.

ohfourfoxache · 05/03/2014 12:28

Fucking hell, old or not, that is beyond unreasonable behaviour. Definitely report him.

Sadly not all old people are nice. Twisted young bastards just age into twisted old bastards.

fragola · 05/03/2014 12:31

What a horrible thing to happen, I hope you're okay. I also think you should report him.

Ihatepeas · 05/03/2014 12:31

I would report to the police.

Vinomcstephens · 05/03/2014 12:32

I don't understand posts like this...you really, truly need mumsnet to tell you if this was unreasonable? I mean, I'm genuinely sorry you were assaulted but seriously, you need to come on here and ask if being assaulted is unreasonable? Really??

Xfirefly · 05/03/2014 12:35

uumm...report to police? but surely you knew this?

Latara · 05/03/2014 12:39

Dial 101. Old people are just young people grown older and often more unreasonable. It's assault. (But your OP has made me giggle, it's like something out of One Foot In The Grave).

ohfourfoxache · 05/03/2014 12:46

Tbh Vino I think op is (understandably) in shock, and she might not trust her own judgment - hence the post?

RunRunRuby · 05/03/2014 12:47

Report it to the police. I don't understand how he could have heard you though, did you have your window open? Otherwise he must be an amazing lip reader

If it's a busy place there may well be CCTV that will show the incident and the car registration.

His age has little to do with it, elderly people shouldn't push people over any more than younger people.

However, I suppose the only thing is that elderly people are more at risk from dementia and similar conditions which can sometimes cause aggressive and uncharacteristic behaviour, so there's a small chance that could be a factor, but even so, he assaulted you and you should report it. If he did have dementia or something that could have caused this then this could be a trigger for him getting the help he needs. But it's all hypothetical. Chances are he's just an unpleasant person. There's plenty of them around and they get old too!

Gruntfuttock · 05/03/2014 12:47

Are there any CC cameras in the area, OP?

Crowler · 05/03/2014 12:47

I can relate to the need to rehash a surreal event.

mrstigs · 05/03/2014 12:54

I guess the fact that noone around reacted to it may have made you doubt yourself. But no, it's not reasonable to slap and push a stranger into the street at any age. Of course it isn't.
And Tbf I bet many of us have muttered to themselves like that when other drivers have forced us into those situations, I know I have. You had the right of way and she was being quite rude. Now if you had stared at her and shouted and gestured then you would also had been in the wrong but im not seeing that from your op. You grumbling to yourself as you were forced to do an awkward manuvour to accommodate someone else's actions is not worthy of a slap.

Nerris · 05/03/2014 12:54

I think the op may still be in shock - no need to be too hard on her. She was assaulted by someone and needs a bit of vent about it.

OP definitely report it, no one should get away with behaviour like that. Some old people are a menace on the road with slow reactions and no idea of space awareness.

Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 05/03/2014 13:00

If he's crazy enough to attack a random stranger, and a lone woman at that, he needs to be reported.

He sounds nuts. Imagine what his poor wife must have to put up with.

LoveVintage · 05/03/2014 13:03

OP, phone the police and just report exactly what happened. Even if the man read your lips, it does not excuse his reaction. Tell the police what time it was, where the car was coming from, its' colour etc and anything else you can remember. It may or may not come to anything but others are right, if he did that to you, he is capable of doing it to someone else, including his poor wife.

InsanityandBeyond · 05/03/2014 13:21

I didn't get reg number. Have called police and they have said without reg number there is not a lot they can do understandably. They will check CCTV. They asked if I am OK. Which I am just bruised pride from having legs akimbo on the ground in a shorter than usual skirt and heels that I don't normally wear which is why it too me so long to get back on my feet. No one stopped to help just looked .

Woman was driving the car. She was a rude and ignorant cow and I was right to be pissed off but the window was not open and I did not think they could read my lips. Even so, driver was in the wrong as I thought you had to give way to cars coming up a hill.

DH said I shouldn't have muttered anything as he would probably want to lamp anyone who muttered something about me which is why I asked for opinions.

OP posts:

Viviennemary · 05/03/2014 13:27

This is shocking. You should report it.

mrstigs · 05/03/2014 13:27

Well no, in an ideal world you would take other people's bad driving on the chin and keep smiling. I bet many people manage to ignore other road users mistakes and not react at all, but that doesn't justify an assault. You posed no threat to the bloke at all. And he showed far less restraint than you when annoyed!

TheReluctantCountess · 05/03/2014 13:33

What an awful thing to happen. The man was completely in the wrong, and his wife for stopping the car to let him out. I hope you find who he is.

5Foot5 · 05/03/2014 13:34

DH said I shouldn't have muttered anything as he would probably want to lamp anyone who muttered something about me

Good grief - in the circumstances described I think muttering was perfectly acceptable! I would have had a jolly good mutter.

And if I had been the woman driving the other car and inadvertently done what she did (which I hope I never would 'cos it was obviously a stupid thing to do but, giving her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she was distracted by her twit of a husband and didn't notice until it was too late) I would have been very embarassed and would have made some sort of apologetic gesture when I passed you. And DH wouldn't have lamped anyone but probably just rolled his etes.

Actually I was once in a vaguely similar situation picking DD up from after school club when I started to pass a line of parked cars and a driver coming the other way refused to back dwn and made me reverse. The sun was in my eyes so I couldn't see the other driver properly but I was not only muttering I was tossing my head and arms in an exaggeratedly exasperated geesture. Then when the other driver passed me I realised it was DDs headmistress

Flip

1 2

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.